If you have ever taken out a loan, you know that there is always the possibility of debt collectors coming after you if you don’t pay them back. This can be a very stressful experience, and many people don’t know how to handle the harassment from loan recovery agents. In this blog post, we will discuss some tips on how to deal with this situation.

What is recovery agent harassment?

Loan recovery agent harassment is when a debt collector repeatedly contacts you in an attempt to collect on a debt. This can be done through phone calls, emails, text messages, or even in person. The goal of the loan recovery agent is to get you to pay back the debt as soon as possible, and they will often use whatever means necessary to get you to do so.

Following actions will be considered harassment:

Without your knowledge, contacting your friends and relatives about your debt.

Calling you and putting mental pressure on you to pay their loan EMIs.

Threatening you or your family or relatives.

Trying to humiliate you by coming to your workplace or home without adequate information.

Insulting you in public by claiming that you’re in debt and that you are not able to pay.

What are the RBI guidelines for recovery agents?

The RBI has put in place some guidelines for debt collectors that are meant to protect consumers from harassment. These guidelines include:

• Debt collectors cannot call you at work if they know that you are not allowed to receive personal calls there.
• They cannot harass or threaten you in any way.
• They cannot use obscene or abusive language when communicating with you.
• They need to carry bank’s identification and authorization letter.
• They cannot contact you before 7 am and after 7pm.
• If a debt collector does any of these things, you can file a complaint with the RBI.

How to deal with loan recovery agent harassment?

If you are being harassed by a loan recovery agent, the first thing you should do is try to calmly explain your situation. Many times, these agents are just doing their job and they don’t realize that they are causing undue stress. If you can calmly explain your financial situation, they may be more understanding and willing to work with you.

If this does not work, here are a few things that you can do to deal with loan recovery agent harassment:

– Keep track of all calls, emails, and text messages from the debt collector. This will help you to document the harassment and prove that it is happening.

– Talk to a lawyer about your rights and what you can do to stop the harassment.

– File a complaint with the RBI if the debt collector breaks any of their guidelines.

If you are experiencing harassment from a loan recovery agent, don’t hesitate to take action. The sooner you address the situation, the sooner it will be resolved.

What are the legal remedies available to stop harassment?

If you are being harassed by a loan recovery agent, there are a few legal remedies available to you. You can file a complaint with the RBI, or you can talk to a lawyer about your rights and what you can do to stop the harassment. You may also be able to file a civil lawsuit against the debt collector if they have broken any laws.

Here are some specific legal remedies that you can explore:

Filing a complaint at the police station

You can submit a formal complaint with the police against the bank or the recovery agent. Once you report them to the proper authorities, they are likely to cease their harassment activities.

Filing an injunction suit

A civil injunction suit can be filed in court for interim relief against the bank and compensation for abuse.

Filing a defamation suit

You could file a defamation complaint against the bank and recovery agent if they have violated RBI guidelines and tried to defame you.

Trespassing suit

You can sue banks directly for unlawful entry and trespassing if debt collection agents enter your home or office without prior permission or consent.

Complaint to your bank

If you’re facing any kind of harassment from a third-party recovery agent, you can take that complaint directly to the bank’s ombudsman.

Complaint to RBI

If your grievances are not resolved by bank’s ombudsman, you can file a complaint with the RBI and serious action can be taken by RBI if the bank or its agents are found to have violated RBI guidelines.

Recently, RBI imposed a penalty of Rs.2.5 crores on Bajaj Finance for harassment of customers by their recovery agents. You can see from this case that RBI is serious about enforcement of its guidelines and protection of the borrowers against this kind of illegal harassment.

These were some of the tips for handling harassment from loan recovery agents.

If you need any help, don’t hesitate to register at Loan Settlement Agency. We not only provide anti-harassment services but will also help you to settle your loans with the banks at 50% or less.

Blog Brief

Agar aap apne personal loan ki payment nahi kar pa rahe, toh aapko loan recovery agents pareshani mein daal sakte hain. Recovery agents loan vapis lene ke liye alag-alag tareekon ka istemal kar sakte hain, jaise ki bar-bar calls karna, galat bhasha ka istemal karna, Aapke relatives tak ko pareshan karna. RBI ne consumers ko aise situation se bachane ke liye kuch guidelines banaye hai, jaise harassment calls na karna, kaam ke samay phone nahi karna, aur galat bhasha ka istemal na karna.

Agar apko Loan Recovery agents harass kar rahe hain toh sabse pehle aap apni situation unko shanti se samjhaye, lekin agar phir bhi situation nai theek ho tho ap RBI mein shikayat darj kara sakte hain. Samay par kadam uthana zaroori hai, kyunki RBI un lenders ke khilaf zarure karwai karegi, jo borrowers ko pareshan karte hain.

Aap chahe toh Loansettlement.com se bhi madad le sakte hai. Agar aapko loan ki repayment mein mushkil ho, toh aap Loansettlement.com par register kar sakte hain. Yeh bank ke sath negotiate karke apke loan ko kam amount main par settle karne mein madad karegy aur
harassment call se bhi bachayenge.

Lawyers Speak

My client had been enduring severe harassment from the recovery agents of a bank. He was receiving an overwhelming 45 to 50 calls per day, a clear violation of the code of conduct guidelines for recovery agents in 2023 set by the RBI. Moreover, he also received messages threatening communication with his family members, which directly contravened RBI guidelines. After thoroughly understanding the client’s issues, our legal team escalated a complaint to the bank’s nodal officer, highlighting the harassment our client was facing and advising him to activate the do not disturb (DND JIO) feature to prevent spam calls. The complaint detailed the client’s situation and urged the nodal officer to take prompt action to alleviate our client’s mental agony. Fortunately, the complaint to the nodal officer spurred action, resulting in the addressing of our client’s concerns and ultimately leading to the resolution of the harassment issue.